Why Email Has Become Dangerous

mikkl666 writes "The Sydney Morning Herald runs an interesting story dealing with a study about email user behavior, explaining how and why email can be a terrible distraction: 'It takes an average of 64 seconds to recover your train of thought after interruption by email. So people who check their email every five minutes waste 8 1/2 hours a week figuring out what they were doing moments before.' Email is also compared to slot machines in the way it works psychologically: 'So with email, usually when I check it there is nothing interesting, but every so often there's something wonderful — an invite out or maybe some juicy gossip — and I get a reward.' There are also some hints offered on how to keep control of the inbox, for those of us already addicted."

Comments

hmm

[Anonymous Coward]

I find porn to be more distracting than email

Wasting my time?

[Anachragnome]

I'm seeing a LOT of posts from people that think they are wasting their time here on Slashdot.

Personally, I can't think of a more educational, insightful and amusing source of information on the web today. The moderation helps me sort the wheat from the chaff, and sometimes the wheat is pure gold.

Do you folks REALLY think your wasting your time here? Really?